Only 23% of workers surveyed had worked remotely pre-Covid.
88% of workers surveyed who are currently working remotely would like to have the option to do so once restrictions have been lifted.
The statistic was published in the ‘Our Lives Online’ survey from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Tuesday (18 January).
Of the 88% who said they would like the option to work from home, three in 10 respondents said they would do like to do it full time.
75% of respondents who had home duties and 69% of those unable to work due to health problems would consider employment if they could work remotely.
Only 23% of those surveyed had engaged in remote work at some point pre-Covid, with that number rising to 80% now.
Nearly four in 10 said they would consider moving home if they were able to work remotely.
59% of people in the Mid-East region (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) would move to another county if they could work remotely.
“Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 2020) the work conditions of those in employment in Ireland has changed dramatically with access to workplaces restricted as part of public health measures,” said statistician Dermot Kinane.
“This is why the CSO has produced ‘Our Lives Online: Remote Work’, which is the second publication to be produced from this Pulse survey as part of the CSO ‘Take Part’ campaign.
“Respondents were asked a series of questions about their current and future working arrangements and the impact remote work has had on their work-life balance.
“The results show how conditions have changed with eight in 10 (80%) of those in employment having worked remotely at some point since the start of the pandemic from just under one in four (23%) having worked remotely at some point before then.
“This report shows that respondents in employment who could work remotely and living in the Mid-East Region (Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow) as well as those who used public transport and those whose travel time to work before the pandemic was more than one hour were more likely to say they would like to work remotely after all pandemic restrictions are removed.”
“Overall, almost three in four (74%) who work remotely said they feel they had more time on their hands, because of remote work, to do things they never got the chance to do before the pandemic.
“The most popular activity undertaken by remote workers who felt they had extra time, as a result of working remotely, was domestic or household tasks.
“Nearly seven in 10 (69%) chose this activity as one of the things they do now with more women (73%) than men (66%) using some extra time for this.”
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